“WILL YOU FORGIVE ME”, July 15, 2009

Its been eight years since we were last blessed with a Maxwell album. Eight years and not a word from the falsetto who made women lose control with just one high note. Eight years since we were ready to crown him as the next Marvin Gaye. What happened? Maxwell is so secretive that we may never know. All that matters is that he’s back with “BLACKsummers’night”.

Maxwell is a throwback artist. Its hard not to use certain words like “funky or groovy” to review his CD. He uses live instruments. No hip hop beats here. No “The Roots” crew. Just plain old music your mama used to love. He opens the album with the groovy “Bad Habits”(check the lyrics). His first single “Pretty Wings” is classic Maxwell. He gets deep on “Stop The World”. “Fistful of Tears” is solid. And he closes the album with a funky three-minute instrumental on “Pheonix Rise”.

“BLACKsummers’night” is part one of a trilogy Maxwell which lets fans know that he’s not going away no time soon. He’s letting everyone know that this is not just an attempt to make money, but another shot at retaking the title that was once his.

Its been a long time since we heard music like this. Maxwell is in his groove. I wish the album was longer than 9 tracks. Its like a teaser. But once the other two CD’s drop, we will get the whole picture.

D THRILL reviewed:

I’m really surprised how much I liked this, January 10, 2010

I can understand why people might not like this. Steve Zahn’s character really is something like a stalker and it is kind of hard to imagine someone like him not scaring someone like Jennifer Aniston’s character to death. And their entire relationship is absurdly unlikely. Still, both Zahn and Aniston manage to be unexpectedly likable and in a weird way they end up making a nice couple. Whether you like or dislike this will depend on how easily you buy into the entire concept.

Also, we live in a period in which romantic comedies — which is actually my favorite genre — are suffering from steep decline. So, while this would not by any stretch of the imagination qualify as a great film, it is, compared to other options at the moment, not at all bad.

Another way in which the film managed to rise above many others of the same time is the photography. Almost every shot is more interesting than you would expect in a film like this. There are a host of interesting shots and camera angles and it really does rise higher than the typical film.

Also, got to love any movie that includes several New Pornographers songs. But if you can cut the film a tiny bit of slack and willingly suspend that disbelief (along with your sense if incredulity) this is a film you could find fun.

Robert Moore reviewed: